A library of synthetic promoters containing the binding site of a single designer transcription activator-like effector (dTALE) was constructed. The promoters contain a constant sequence, consisting of an 18-base long dTALE-binding site and a TATA box, flanked by degenerate sequences of 49 bases downstream and 19 bases upstream. Forty-three of these promoters were sequenced and tested in transi...

Fat storage-inducing transmembrane protein 2 (FIT2) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized protein that plays an important role in lipid droplet (LD) formation in animal cells. However, no obvious homologue of FIT2 is found in plants. Here, we tested the function of FIT2 in plant cells by ectopically expressing mouse (Mus musculus) FIT2 in Nicotiana tabacum suspension-cultured cells, Nicoti...

We report here that all 25 isolates of Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) collected from tobacco, tomato, or Siegesbeckia orientalis plants in different regions of Yunnan Province, China, were associated with DNAbeta molecules. To investigate the biological role of DNAbeta, full-length infectious clones of viral DNA and DNAbeta of TYLCCNV isolate Y10 (TYLCCNV-Y10) were agroinoculated...

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of plant immune responses, we isolated genes whose expression was regulated by inoculation with Ralstonia solanacearum. Here, we report the characterization of Nicotiana benthamiana belonging to the SEC14-gene superfamily designated as Nicotiana benthamiana SEC14 (NbSEC14). NbSEC14 rescued growth defects and impaired invertase secretion associated with the ...

Xanthan is the major exopolysaccharide secreted by Xanthomonas spp. Despite its diverse roles in bacterial pathogenesis of plants, little is known about the real implication of this molecule in Xanthomonas pathogenesis. In this study we show that in contrast to Xanthomonas campestris pv campestris strain 8004 (wild type), the xanthan minus mutant (strain 8397) and the mutant strain 8396, which ...

Hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers have long been pursued to meet clinical needs by using native hemoglobin (Hb) from human or animal blood, recombinantly produced Hb, but the development has impeded safety and toxicity issues. Herewith we report successful production of fetal (HbF) in Nicotiana benthamiana through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient expression. HbF is a heterotetrameric...

For the production of therapeutic proteins in plants, the presence of β1,2-xylose and core α1,3-fucose on plants' N-glycan structures has been debated for their antigenic activity. In this study, RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to down-regulate the endogenous N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GNTI) expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. One glyco-engineered line (NbGNTI-RNAi) showed ...

RNA silencing is a sequence specific post-transcriptional mechanism regulating important biological processes including antiviral defense in plants. Argonaute (AGO) proteins, the catalytic subunits of complexes, are loaded with small RNAs to execute cleavage or translational inhibition. Plants encode several AGO proteins and few them, especially AGO1 AGO2, have been shown be required for silenc...